Cold-storage heat exchanger

ABSTRACT

A cold storage heat exchanger includes refrigerant tubes having therein refrigerant passages and arranged to provide a clearance therebetween. A cold storage container is bonded to a refrigerant tube and defines therein a compartment receiving a cold storage material. The cold storage container has protrusion portions protruding outward and being in contact with the refrigerant tube.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/616,944 filed on Feb. 9, 2015, which is adivisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/800,979filed on May 27, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,978,411, which claims thebenefit of priority from Japanese Patent Applications No. 2009-136630filed on Jun. 5, 2009, and No. 2010-095227 filed on Apr. 16, 2010. Theentire disclosures of all of the above applications are incorporatedherein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a cold-storage heat exchanger used fora refrigerant cycle device.

BACKGROUND

Conventionally, a cold-storage type cooling device for a trucker nap,described in JP 8-175167A, is known. A container, in which acold-storage material is sealed, is made of a resin film, in thecold-storage type cooling device of JP 8-175167A. A recess portion and aprotrusion portion are provided on a surface of the container, and areconfigured such that an air passage for air cooled by the cold-storagematerial is formed by the recess portion.

In a cold storage time, refrigerant flows into refrigerant tubes inwhich the container is inserted, so as to configure an evaporator for atrucker nap. Thus, air passing through the air passage is supplied tothe trucker, thereby performing a cooling operation by the evaporator.

In the above cold-storage type cooling device, an evaporator for avehicle interior, for cooling the trucker during a vehicle running, islocated separately from the evaporator for a trucker nap, such thatrefrigerant discharged from a compressor flows into both the evaporatorsin parallel.

In the above cold-storage type cooling device, a cold-storage heatexchanger used as the evaporator for a trucker nap only causes air toperform heat exchange with the cold-storage material and to flow, afterbeing cold-stored. Thus, in order to perform the cooling of a vehiclecompartment, another evaporator used as a cooling heat exchanger isrequired, thereby increasing the cost.

Furthermore, when the refrigerant tube and the cold storage containerare bonded and brazed, a clearance may be caused between a surface ofthe cold storage container and a surface of the refrigerant tube, andthereby condensed water generated on the evaporator surface may enterinto the clearance. Thus, in a case where the refrigerant temperature isequal to or lower than 0° C., the condensed water in the clearance isfrozen.

When the condensed water is frozen in the clearance, the volume of thefrozen part is expanded, thereby causing a frost break such as a breakof the refrigerant tube and the cold storage container. If a coldstorage, a cooling of a compartment due to the refrigerant tube, and acooling of the compartment due to the cold release of the cold storagematerial are performed by using a single heat exchanger, air passesaround the cold storage container even in the cold storage time, andwater in the air easily adheres on the surface of the cold storagecontainer. In this case, the above problem of the frost break isremarkable.

SUMMARY

An object of the disclosure is to provide a cold storage heat exchanger,which can perform by using a single heat exchanger, a cold storage, acooling of a compartment due to a refrigerant tube, and a cooling of thecompartment due to a cold release of a cold storage material, therebypreventing a problem regarding a freezing break.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a cold storage heatexchanger includes a plurality of refrigerant tubes having thereinrefrigerant passages and arranged to provide a clearance therebetween,and a cold storage container that is bonded to the refrigerant tube anddefines a compartment receiving a cold storage material. A cooling airpassage, in which air flows to cool a space to be cooled in a coldstorage time of the cold storage material and in a cold release time ofthe cold storage material, is provided to contact a surface of therefrigerant tube on a side opposite to the cold storage container bondedto the refrigerant tube. An outer surface of the cold storage container,onto which the refrigerant tube is bonded, is provided with a pluralityof protrusion portions or a plurality of recess portions.

According to another embodiment of the disclosure, a cold storage heatexchanger includes a plurality of flat tubes having therein refrigerantpassages, and arranged to provide a clearance therebetween; and a coldstorage container disposed in the clearance and bonded to at least oneof the plurality of flat tubes, the cold storage container havingtherein a compartment receiving a cold storage material. The coldstorage container has a plurality of protrusion portions protrudingoutward of the cold storage container and being in contact with a flatsurface of the at least one flat tube. Each of the plurality ofprotrusion portions extends from an edge to another edge of the flatsurface with continuously contacting the flat surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a refrigerant cycle device for avehicle air conditioner, according to a first embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an evaporator according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the evaporator when being viewed from thearrow III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing a part of the evaporator,in a section taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing relationships between arefrigerant tube, a cold storage container and an air-side fin, in asection taken along the line V-V of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an inner side view of the cold storage container, when beingviewed from the arrow VI of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining a draining state ofcondensed water flowing downwardly when the evaporator of the firstembodiment is mounted in a position of a vertical direction;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining a state of discharging atreating solution in a surface processing step of the evaporator;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged side view showing a part of a cold storagecontainer similar to FIG. 6, according to a second embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view showing relationships between arefrigerant tube, a cold storage container and an air-side fin, in asection similar to FIG. 5, according to the second embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 11 is a characteristic diagram showing relationships between acapacity ratio of the evaporator, and a brazing surface ratio betweenthe cold storage container and the refrigerant tube, in the above firstembodiment and the above second embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram for explaining a flow of a brazingmaterial in the structure of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a side view of a cold storage container having an unevenshape of a lattice arrangement, as an example of another embodiment ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a side view of a cold storage container having an unevenshape of an oblique arrangement, as an example of another embodiment ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a side view of a cold storage container having an unevenshape of a zigzag arrangement, as an example of another embodiment ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a side view of a cold storage container having an unevenshape of a round lattice arrangement, as an example of anotherembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a schematic sectional view showing relationships between arefrigerant tube, a cold storage container and an air-side fin, in asection taken along the line V-V of FIG. 3, according to a thirdembodiment of the disclosure;

FIGS. 18A and 18B are sectional views for explaining a performancedecrease due to a bonding ratio between an inner fin and a cold storagecontainer of an evaporator according to the third embodiment, in whichFIG. 18A indicates a case where an outer surface bonding ratio X issuitably small, and FIG. 18B indicates a case where the outer surfacebonding ratio X is too large;

FIGS. 19A, 19B and 19C are graphs for explaining performances due to thebonding ratio between the inner fin and the cold storage container ofthe evaporator according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a side view showing a part of rib shape on a surface of acold storage container in an evaporator, according to a fourthembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 21 is a side view showing a part of rib shape on a surface of acold storage container in an evaporator, according to a fifth embodimentof the disclosure;

FIG. 22 is a side view showing a part of rib shape on a surface of acold storage container in an evaporator, according to a sixth embodimentof the disclosure;

FIG. 23 is a side view showing a part of rib shape on a surface of acold storage container in an evaporator, according to a seventhembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 24 is a front view showing an evaporator with a cold storagematerial, formed by stacking plates, according to an eighth embodimentof the disclosure;

FIG. 25 is a left side view showing the evaporator with a cold storagematerial of FIG. 24;

FIGS. 26A and 26B are schematic sectional views showing in contrast, anevaporator in which a refrigerant tube is manufactured by a drawn-cuptube, and an evaporator in which a refrigerant tube is manufactured byextrusion, according to the eighth embodiment of the disclosure;

FIGS. 27A and 27B are schematic sectional views showing in contrast, anevaporator in which a refrigerant tube is manufactured by a drawn-cuptube, and an evaporator in which a refrigerant tube is manufactured byextrusion, according to a ninth embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 28 is a schematic sectional view showing a part of an evaporatorsimilar to FIG. 4, according to a tenth embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 29 is an enlarged schematic sectional view showing a part Z33 ofFIG. 28;

FIG. 30 is an enlarged schematic sectional view showing a part Z34 ofFIG. 28;

FIG. 31 is a graph showing a variation state of an evaporatortemperature in accordance with an interruption operation of a compressoraccording to a tenth embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 32 is a side view showing reverse V-shaped ribs formed on a surfaceof a cold storage container of the evaporator of FIG. 28.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a refrigerant cycle device 1 for avehicle air conditioner, according to a first embodiment of thedisclosure. The refrigerant cycle device 1 for an air conditionerincludes a compressor 10, a radiator 20, a decompression device 30 andan evaporator 40. The components of the refrigerant cycle device 1 areconnected in cycle by piping, thereby configuring a refrigerant circuit.

The compressor 10 is driven by an internal combustion engine (orelectrical motor etc.) that is a driving source 2 for a vehicletraveling. Thus, the compressor 10 is also stopped when the drivingsource 2 stops. The compressor 10 draws refrigerant flowing out of theevaporator 40, compresses the drawn refrigerant, and discharge thecompressed refrigerant toward the radiator 20. The radiator 20 isconfigured to cool high-temperature refrigerant from the compressor 10.The radiator 20 is also called as a condenser. The decompression device30 decompresses the refrigerant cooled by the radiator 20. Theevaporator 40 evaporates the refrigerant decompressed by thedecompression device 30, thereby cooling air to be blown into a vehiclecompartment.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the evaporator 40 according to the firstembodiment. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the evaporator 40 when beingviewed from the arrow III of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectionalview showing a part of the evaporator 40, in a section taken along theline IV-IV of FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showingrelationships between a refrigerant tube, a cold storage container andan air-side fin, in a section taken along the line V-V of FIG. 3.

In FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the evaporator 40 includes a plurality of branchedrefrigerant passage members. The refrigerant passage members are made ofmetal such as aluminum. The refrigerant passage members are formed byheaders 41, 42, 43, 44 positioned by pairs, and a plurality ofrefrigerant tubes 45 connected between the headers 41, 42, 43, 44.

More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a first header 41 and asecond header 42 are configured as a pair of header tanks, and arearranged in parallel to be separated by a predetermined distance.Furthermore, a third header 43 and a fourth header 44 are configured asa pair of header tanks, and are arranged in parallel to be separated bya predetermined distance. The refrigerant tubes 45 are arranged at thesame interval between the first header 41 and the second header 42.

The refrigerant tubes 45 corresponding to the first header 41 and thesecond header 42 are made to communicate with the interiors of the firstheader 41 and the second header 42. Thus, a first heat exchange portion48 shown in FIG. 3 is formed by the first header 41, the second header42 and the plural refrigerant tubes 45 arranged between the first andsecond headers 41 and 42. The refrigerant tubes 45 are also arranged atthe same interval between the third header 43 and the fourth header 44.

The refrigerant tubes 45 corresponding to the third header 43 and thefourth header 44 are made to communicate with the interiors of the thirdheader 43 and the fourth header 44. Thus, a second heat exchange portion49 is formed by the third header 43, the fourth header 44 and the pluralrefrigerant tubes 45 arranged between the third and fourth headers 43and 44.

As a result, the evaporator 40 includes the first heat exchange portion48 and the second heat exchange portion 49 which are arranged at twolayers. With respect to the flow direction of air shown by arrow 400 inFIG. 3, the second heat exchange portion 49 is arranged at an upstreamside, and the first heat exchange portion 48 is arranged at a downstreamside.

A joint (not shown) is provided as a refrigerant inlet at an end portionof the first header 41 A partition plate (now shown) is located in thefirst header 41 approximately at a center in a longitudinal direction ofthe first header 41, to partition an interior space of the first header41 into a first partition area and a second partition area. Thus, theplurality of tubes 45 is separated into a first group and a second groupbased on the partition position of the first header 41.

In the evaporator 40, refrigerant is firstly supplied to the firstpartition area of the first header 41 from the refrigerant inlet. Then,the refrigerant is distributed into the plural refrigerant tubes 45 ofthe first group from the first partition area of the first header 41.The refrigerant passing through the plural tubes 45 of the first groupflows into the second header 42, to be joined therein.

The refrigerant flows in the second header 42, and is distributed intothe plural refrigerant tubes 45 of the second group from the secondheader 42. Then, the refrigerant passing through the plural tubes 45 ofthe second group flows into the second partition area of the firstheader 41. Thus, in the first heat exchange portion 48, a refrigerantpath, in which refrigerant flows in a U shape, is formed.

A joint (not shown) is provided as a refrigerant outlet at an endportion of the third header 43. A partition plate (now shown) is locatedin the third header 43 approximately at a center in a longitudinaldirection of the third header 43, to partition an interior space of thethird header 43 into a first partition area and a second partition area.

Thus, the plurality of tubes 45 between the third header 43 and thefourth header 44 is separated into a first group and a second groupbased on the partition position of the third header 43. The firstpartition area of the third header 43 is arranged adjacent to the secondpartition area of the first header 41. Furthermore, the first partitionarea of the third header 43 is provided to communicate with the secondpartition area of the first header 41.

Thus, the refrigerant flows from the second partition area of the firstheader 41 to the first partition area of the third header 43. Then, therefrigerant is distributed into the plural refrigerant tubes 45 of thefirst group of the second heat exchange portion 49 from the firstpartition area of the third header 43. The refrigerant passing throughthe plural tubes 45 of the first group flows into the fourth header 44,to be joined therein. The refrigerant flows in the fourth header 44, andis distributed into the plural refrigerant tubes 45 of the second groupfrom the fourth header 44, in the second heat exchange portion 49.

Then, the refrigerant passing through the plural tubes 45 of the secondgroup flows into the second partition area of the third header 43. Thus,in the second heat exchange portion 49, a refrigerant path, in whichrefrigerant flows in a U shape, is also formed. The refrigerant in thesecond partition area of the third header 43 flows from the refrigerantoutlet toward the compressor 10.

In the evaporator 40, the plurality of tubes 45 are arrangedapproximately at certain intervals, and clearances are formed betweenthe plural refrigerant tubes 45. A plurality air-side fins 46 and aplurality of cold-storage containers 47 are arranged in the clearancesbetween the plural refrigerant tubes 45, to have a predeterminedregularity. A part of the clearances between the refrigerant tubes 45 isused as cooling air passages 460. The remaining part in the clearancesis used as receiving portions 461 in each of which the cold storagecontainer 47 is disposed.

The receiving portions 461 are set to be in a range equal to more than10% and equal to or lower than 50% of the total clearances formedbetween the plural refrigerant tubes 45. The cold storage containers 47are arranged and distributed approximately uniformly in an entire heatexchange area of the evaporator 40. In the example of FIG. 2, tworefrigerant tubes 45 positioned at two sides of the cold storagecontainer 47 define the cooling air passages 460 for exchanging heatwith air on each side opposite to the cold storage container 47.

On the other point, as shown in FIG. 4, two refrigerant tubes 45 (45 a)and 45 (45 b) are arranged between the two air-side fins 46 a and 46 b,and one cold storage container 47 is arranged between the tworefrigerant tubes 45 (45 a) and 45 (45 b).

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the refrigerant tubes 45 are multi-hole tubeseach of which has a plurality of refrigerant passages extending in atube longitudinal direction. The refrigerant tubes 45 (45 a, 45 b) areflat tubes. This multi-hole tube can be formed by an extrusion process.A plurality of refrigerant passages 45 c shown in FIG. 4 extend in therefrigerant tube 45 in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface ofFIG. 4.

The plural refrigerant tubes 45 are arranged in plural lines (e.g., twolines). In each arrangement line, the plural refrigerant tubes 45 arearranged such that the side surfaces of the tubes 45 are opposite toeach other. The plural refrigerant tubes 45 are arranged to define thecooling air passages 460 for performing heat exchange with air, and thereceiving portions 461 for receiving the cold storage containers 47,between adjacent two refrigerant tubes 45 a and 45 b.

In the evaporator 40, the air-side fins 46 is provided in the coolingair passages 460 so as to increase contact areas with air to be suppliedto the vehicle compartment. In the present embodiment, the air-side fins46 (46 a and 46 b) are formed by a plurality of corrugated fins.

The air-side fins 46 are thermally connected with the two adjacentrefrigerant tubes 45. The air-side fins 46 are bonded to the twoadjacent refrigerant tubes 45 by using a bonding material superior inthe thermal transmission. For example, a brazing material can be used asthe bonding material. The air-side fin 46 is a louver plate formed bybending a metal plate such as a thin aluminum plate in a wave shape.

The evaporator 40 further includes the plural cold storage containers47. The cold storage containers 47 are made of a metal such as aluminum,for example. The cold storage container 47 is a cylindrical shape havingconcavities and convexities on its left and right surfaces of FIG. 4.

The cold storage container 47 is closed at its longitudinal two ends(e.g., top and bottom ends of FIGS. 2 and 5), so that a chamber forreceiving therein the cold storage material 50 is partitioned and sealedas shown in FIG. 5. The cold storage container 47 has main surfaces atits two side wall portions. The two side wall portions for defining themain surfaces of the cold storage container 47 are arranged respectivelyin parallel with the refrigerant tubes 45.

The cold storage container 47 is disposed between adjacent tworefrigerant tubes 45. The cold storage container 47 is connectedthermally to the two refrigerant tubes 45 arranged adjacently at twosides of the cold storage container 47, at protrusion portions 47 a 1 ofits outer shell 47 a.

The cold storage container 47 is bonded to the two adjacent refrigeranttubes 45 by using a bonding material superior in the thermaltransmission. As the bonding material, a resin material such as abrazing material or adhesive can be used. In the first embodiment, thecold storage container 47 is brazed to the refrigerant tubes 45.

A brazing material is provided between the cold storage container 47 andthe refrigerant tubes 45, so as to be connected by a larger sectionalarea therebetween. As the brazing material, a brazing foil may bearranged between the cold storage container 47 and the refrigerant tube45. In this case, the cold storage container 47 can be bonded to therefrigerant tube 45 to have a superior heat transmission therebetween.

The cold storage container 47 is provided with an outer shell 47 adefining an outer surface of the cold storage container 47. The outershell 47 a of the cold storage container 47 is formed to have an unevensurface shape. In the present embodiment, by using the uneven surfaceshape, the brazing performance of the cold storage container 47 with therefrigerant tube 45 can be improved. Because of the uneven surface shapeof the outer shell 47 a of the cold storage container 47, the brazingarea can be made smaller, thereby preventing a void or a clearance frombeing caused.

In FIG. 5, 47 a 1 indicates protrusion portion (convexities), and 47 a 2indicates recess portion (concavities) of the outer shell 47 a of thecold storage container 47. The protrusion portion 47 a 1 of the outershell 47 a of the cold storage container 47 is brazed to the refrigeranttube 45. The brazing material contains silicon (Si). By adjusting asilicon amount contained in the brazing material, a degree of flux ofthe brazing material flowing into a brazing portion between the coldstorage container 47 and the refrigerant tube 45 can be adjusted. Thebrazing material can easily flow into the brazing portion as the amountof Si becomes larger in the brazing material. The recess portion 47 a 2of the outer shell 47 a of the cold storage container 47 defines acold-storage side air passage 461 a.

Furthermore, the uneven shape is formed in repeat by plural times inboth of a longitudinal direction (top-bottom direction of FIG. 5) of thecold storage container 47 and a lateral direction (top-bottom directionof FIG. 4) of the cold storage container 47. By the uneven surface shapeof the outer shell 47 a of the cold storage container 47, drainingperformance of water such as condensed water can be improved.

As shown in FIG. 5, an inner fin 47 f is arranged inside of the coldstorage container 47 to be thermally and mechanically connected to aninner wall of the cold storage container 47. The inner fin 47 f isbonded to the inner wall of the cold storage container 47 by using abonding material that is superior in the heat transmission. Thus, thebonding of the inner fin 47 f to the inner wall of the cold storagecontainer 47 can be performed by brazing. Because the inner fin 47 f isconnected to the inner side of the cold storage container 47, it canprevent a deformation of the cold storage container 47, and pressureresistance performance can be improved in the cold storage container 47.

As shown in FIG. 5, the inner fin 47 f is formed into a wave shape bybending a metal plate such as a thin aluminum plate. Because the surfaceof the cold storage container 47 is an uneven-shaped surface, the innerfin 47 f is bonded to the recess portion 47 of the outer shell 47 a ofthe cold storage container 47, that is, the inside protrusion portionprotruding to the inside of the cold storage container 47. Therefore,mechanical strength and pressure resistance performance of the coldstorage container 47 can be increased by using the inner fin 47 f. Thus,the protrusion portion 47 a 1 of the outer shell 47 a protruding outsideis not bonded to the inner fin 47 f. In FIG. 5, 460 indicates thecooling air passage, and 461 a indicates the cold-storage side airpassage.

FIG. 4 shows the inner fin 47 f as a plate material when the inner fin47 f is viewed from the top side of FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, the inner fin 47f bent in a wave shape is schematically indicated. Actually, a pluralityof louvers are formed in the wave-shaped fin by cutting and standing theplate material.

FIG. 6 is an inner side view of the cold storage container 47 showing aninner wall of the cold storage container 47, when being viewed from thearrow VI of FIG. 5. The cold storage container 47 molded by aluminum inFIG. 6 is a rectangular container having a height dimension of about 225mm, a width dimension of about 50 mm, and a thickness dimension of about5 mm, for example. The height dimension is the dimension of the coldstorage container 47 in the top and bottom direction of FIG. 6. As shownin FIG. 6, the plural protrusion portions 47 a 1 on the containersurface are formed in a zigzag arrangement. When the plural protrusionportions 47 a 1 are formed in the zigzag shape on the surface of thecold storage container 47, the container 47 can be easily removed from adie in a press molding. Furthermore, the lateral width dimension of thebrazing portion of each protrusion portion 47 a 1 is set to be equal toor lower than a width of 2-5 mm, in order to prevent void.

Inside of the cold storage container 47 having the thickness about 5 mm,the inner fin 47 is disposed, as shown in FIG. 5. In FIG. 6, 47 gindicates a punching-out portion configured to stop and fix the innerfin 47. The inner fin 47 f and the cold storage material 50 arecontained inside of the cold storage container 47 approximately to aheight position where the punching-out portion 47 g is provided.Furthermore, air is sealed in the interior of the cold storage container47 at an upper side of the punching-out portion 47 g. Thus, by thecompression action of the air, a stress applied to the cold storagecontainer 47 in the expansion of the cold storage material 50 can bereduced (refer to FIG. 5).

The operation effects of the first embodiment will be described. In thepresent embodiment, the plural recess portions 47 a 2 and the pluralprotrusion portions 47 a 1 are provided on the surface of the coldstorage container 47. Therefore, only the outer surfaces of theprotrusion portions 47 a 1 are used as the contact portion between thecold storage container 47 and the refrigerant tube 45. Furthermore,condensed water or a treating solution used in the evaporator surfaceprocess can be discharged easily by using the clearance between theprotrusion portions 47 a 1 (or/and using the surfaces of the recessportions 47 a 2).

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining a state of condensed waterflowing downwardly when the evaporator is mounted to a vehicle airconditioner in a position of a vertical direction. In FIG. 7, the arrows47 h 1 show the streams of the condensed water flowing in parallel fromthe top direction to the down direction, on the surfaces of the recessportions 47 a 2 of the outer shell 47 a of the cold storage container47, between the protrusion portions 47 a 1 arranged in a zigzag shape.

Because of the protrusion portions 47 a 1, it can prevent a flat contactin a wide area, thereby preventing a void generation in the brazingportion after the brazing. Therefore, the brazing performance betweenthe cold storage container 47 and the refrigerant tube 45 can beimproved.

In the present embodiment, the plural recess portions 47 a 2 and theplural protrusion portions 47 a 1 are provided on the surface of thecold storage container 47. Therefore, only the inside protrusions of therecess portions 47 a 2 can be made to contact the inner fin 47 f of thecold storage container 47.

As a result, an inner path 50 a can be secured between the inner fin 47f and the cold storage container 47. Thus, in a sealing step for sealingthe cold storage material 50, a time for sealing the cold storagematerial 50 can be effectively shortened.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining a state of removing atreating solution in a surface processing step of the evaporator. Afterthe dipping of the cold storage container 47 is performed in a treatingsolution, air is blown by a blower to the cold storage container 47. InFIG. 8, the arrows 47 h 2 show the streams of the treating solutionflowing on the surfaces of the recess portions 47 a 2 of the coldstorage container 47 between the protrusion portions 47 a 1 arranged ina zigzag shape. Furthermore, 471 and 472 indicate the direction of airblown by the blower in the surface processing step.

Because the uneven shape of the cold-storage container 47 is repeated inthe longitudinal direction and the lateral direction of the cold storagecontainer 47, the draining performance can be secured regardless of themounting angle of the evaporator. In particular, it is preferable toprovide thin and long oval protrusion portions 47 a 1 along thelongitudinal direction of the cold storage container 47, as shown inFIG. 7. In this case, the draining performance of the condensed water,press-molding performance of the cold storage container 47, and sealingperformance of the cold storage material 50 can be more improved.

Second Embodiment

Next, a second embodiment of the disclosure will be described. FIG. 9 isa side view showing a cold storage container 47 according to the secondembodiment, corresponding to that of FIG. 6. In the present embodimentand the following embodiments, a part that corresponds to a matterdescribed in the above first embodiment may be assigned with the samereference numeral, and the explanation for the part may be omitted. Onlydifferent structures and features different from the above-describedfirst embodiment will be mainly described in the present embodiment andthe following embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the second embodiment, the cold storage container47 is provided with plural protrusion portions 47 a 1 each having anopen-hole shape at its center portion (i.e., protrusion tip surface). Asshown in FIG. 10, via open-hole portions 47 a 3 opened at the protrusionportions 47 a 1, the cold storage material 50 in the cold storagecontainer 47 can directly contact the surface of the refrigerant tube45.

Further, it is preferable to set the brazing width of the protrusionportion 47 a 1 in the left-right direction of FIG. 9 to be in a range of2 mm to 5 mm.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view showing relationships between therefrigerant tube 45, the cold storage container 47 and the air-side fin46, similarly to FIG. 5. The cold storage material 50, sealed in thecold storage container 47 together with the inner fin 47 f, exposes fromthe inside of the cold storage container 47 into the open-hole portions47 a 3, thereby directly contacting the surface of the refrigerant tube45. In FIG. 10, 460 indicates the cooling air passage, and 461 aindicates the cold-storage side air passage.

After the protrusion portions 47 a 1 of the cold storage container 47are brazed to the refrigerant tube 45, the cold storage material 50 issealed in the cold storage container 47 by the surface of therefrigerant tube 45. Thus, it can prevent the cold storage material 50from leaking from the open-hole portions 47 a 3 of the cold storagecontainer 47.

A contact area is set at 100% as a reference, if all the outer surfaceof a cold storage container 47 without an uneven shape (i.e., withoutthe recess portions 47 a 2 and the protrusion portions 47 a 1) orwithout the open-hole portion 47 a 3 is used as the contact surfacecontacting the surface of the refrigerant tube 45. In this case, whenthe uneven shapes or/and the hole-open portions 47 a 3 are provided inthe outer surface of the cold storage container 47 so that the contactarea of the cold storage container 47 partially contacting therefrigerant tube 45 becomes equal to or larger than 10% (morepreferably, equal to or larger than 20%) as in the first and secondembodiments, the heat exchanging capacity can be sufficiently obtainedin the evaporator for an air conditioner, as described later. Here, thecontact area corresponds to a brazing area.

FIG. 11 is a characteristic diagram showing relationships between acapacity ratio of the evaporator, and a brazing surface ratio betweenthe cold storage container 47 and the refrigerant tube 45. In FIG. 11,the capacity ratio of the evaporator is set at 100%, when the brazingarea ratio is set at 100% in a case where all the outer surface of thecold storage container 47 without an uneven shape or without theopen-hole portion 47 a 3 is used as the contact surface contacting thesurface of the refrigerant tube 45. As shown in FIG. 11, even when thecold storage container 47 is provided with the uneven shape or theopen-hole portions at the protrusion portions 47 a 1, when the ratio ofthe brazing area partially contacting the refrigerant tube 45 is setequal to or larger than 10%, the capacity ratio of the evaporator can bemaintained equal to or larger than 90%.

In a case where the open-hole portions 47 a 3 are provided, it ispreferable to use a brazing material formed on the inner surface of thecold storage container 47 to be different from a brazing material formedon the outer surface of the cold storage container 47, as the brazingmaterials used at the brazing portion between the cold storage container47 and the refrigerant tube 45. The fluidity of the brazing materialbecomes larger, as an amount of silicon Si contained in the brazingmaterial becomes larger.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram for explaining a flow of a brazingmaterial in the structure of FIG. 10. In FIG. 12, arrow 47IN indicates aflow of an inner-surface brazing material formed on an inner surface ofthe cold storage container 47, and arrow 47OUT indicates a flow of anouter-surface brazing material formed on an outer surface of the coldstorage container 47.

The fluidity of the brazing material becomes larger, as an amount ofsilicon Si contained in the brazing material becomes larger. When thefluidity of the inner-surface brazing material of the cold storagecontainer 47 is made higher than the fluidity of the outer-surfacebrazing material of the cold storage container 47, the brazing of thecold storage container 47 to the refrigerant tube 45 can be preferablyperformed. The reason will be explained below.

The outer-surface brazing material of the cold storage container 47includes a sacrificial anticorrosion material. By limiting the fluidityof the outer-surface brazing material flowing into between the coldstorage container 47 and the refrigerant tube 45, the brazing at anecessary portion due to the outer-surface brazing material can besecured, and it is preferable to improve the anticorrosion performanceof the brazing portion between the cold storage container 47 and therefrigerant tube 45. Thus, in the present embodiment, the silicon Siamount is made larger in the inner-surface brazing material of the coldstorage container 47 than that in the outer-surface brazing material ofthe cold storage container 47, thereby increasing the fluidity of theinner-surface brazing material shown by the arrow 47IN in FIG. 12.

In the present embodiment, because the brazing of the brazing portionbetween the cold storage container 47 and the refrigerant tube 45 isperformed by using both the flow of the inner-surface brazing materialflowing from the inner surface of the cold storage container 47 and theflow of the outer-surface brazing material flowing from the outersurface of the cold storage container 47, the bonding performance of thecold storage container 47 to the refrigerant tube 45 can be effectivelyobtained and maintained.

Modification of the Above-Described First and Second Embodiments

The disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, butthe following changes and modifications will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art. For example, in the above-described firstembodiment, the zigzag uneven shape is formed on the surface of the coldstorage container 47. However, as shown in FIG. 13, a grill-arrangementoval-uneven shape may be formed on the surface of the cold storagecontainer 47. Moreover, an uneven shape of the cold storage container 47may be an oval-shaped slanting arrangement shown in FIG. 14, may be around zigzag arrangement shown in FIG. 15, or may be a round grillarrangement shown in FIG. 16.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 17 is an enlarged sectional view showing relationships between arefrigerant tube, a cold storage container and an air-side fin,according to a third embodiment, in a section taken along the line V-Vof FIG. 3 similarly to FIG. 5. In the third embodiment, a bonding ratioof the outer surface of the cold storage container 47 or a bonding ratioof the inner surface of the cold storage container 47 is set in apredetermined range.

In FIG. 17, 460 indicates a cooling air passage, and 461 a indicates acold-storage side air passage. In a case where the surface of the coldstorage container 47 is configured to have ribs of an uneven shape, whenan area ratio of the outer surface of the cold storage container 47defining the protrusion portions 47 a 1 is set at X %, and when an arearatio of the inner surface of the cold storage container 47 defining therecess portion 47 a 2 is set at Y %, X+Y=100%. Here, the outer surfaceof the cold storage container 47 defining the protrusion portion 47 a 1is the portion of the virtual lines indicated by the chain lines in FIG.17. In contrast, the inner surface of the cold storage container 47defining the recess portion 47 a 2 is the portion of the cold storagecontainer 47 contacting the inner fin 47 f.

As shown in FIG. 17, the inner fin 47 f having a uniform width isprovided in the cold storage container 47. By forming the uneven shapeof the surface of the cold storage container 47, the inner fin 47 f ismade to partially contact the inner surface of the cold storagecontainer 47 and to partially not contact the inner surface of the coldstorage container 47. When the area ratio X of the virtual line portionof the cold storage container 47 is large, that is, when the area ratioY of the recess portion 47 a 2 is small, a ratio of the non-contact areabetween the cold storage container 47 and the inner fin 47 f becomeslarge, thereby reducing the performance of the heat exchanger (e.g.,evaporator).

On the other hand, when the area ratio X of the virtual line portion issmall, that is, when the area ratio Y is large, it is difficult to havea sufficient contact area between the cold storage container 47 and therefrigerant tubes 45 (45 a, 45 b). In this case, the amount of the coldstorage material and the amount of the brazing material can be madesmall, but heat exchanging performance of a cold storage heat exchanger(e.g., evaporator) is reduced.

The inner fin 47 f is bent in a wave shape to have ending portions, sothat the tip portions of the bending portions partially contact theinner surface of the cold storage container 47. The wave height of thebending portions (i.e., the width of the inner fin 17 in the left-rightdirection of FIG. 17) is made uniform. When the wave height of thebending portions of the inner fin 47 f is made uniform, the inner fin 47f can be easily manufactured and assembled.

FIGS. 18A and 18B are schematic diagrams for explaining a decrease inheat exchange performances due to the bonding ratio between the innerfin 47 f and the cold storage container 47. FIG. 18A shows a case wherethe area ratio (bonding ratio) X of the outer surface of the coldstorage container 47 is in a suitable range, and FIG. 18B shows a casewhere the bonding ratio X of the outer surface of the cold storagecontainer 47 is too large.

In the case of FIG. 18A, the heat transmission distance from therefrigerant tubes 45 a, 45 b to the inner fin 47 f and to the coldstorage material 50 is made shorter, thereby increasing heattransmission amount. In contrast, in the case of FIG. 18B, the heattransmission distance from the refrigerant tubes 45 a, 45 b to the innerfin 47 f and to the cold storage material 50 is made longer, therebydecreasing heat transmission amount.

Because of the uneven portion is provided in the cold storage container47, a part of the inner fin 47 f does not contact the cold storagecontainer 47, and is not brazed to the inner wall of the cold storagecontainer 47. Thus, the performance of the cold storage heat exchangeris changed by the uneven shape and dimension.

FIGS. 19A, 19B and 19C are graphs for explaining the heat exchangeperformances due to the bonding ratio between the inner fin 47 f and thecold storage container 47. FIG. 19A is a graph showing the relationshipbetween a bonding ratio X and a cold release time after the cold storagematerial 50 is sufficiently cold-stored. FIG. 19B is a graph showing therelationship between the bonding ratio X and a cold storage time(Seconds). FIG. 19C is a graph showing the relationship between abonding ratio X and a cold release time (Seconds) when the cold storageis performed for a limited time and is not completely finished.

In FIGS. 18A-18B and FIGS. 19A-19C, when the bonding ratio X becomeslarger, the volume of the cold storage material 50 at a portion adjacentto the bonding portion is increased. Therefore, in a case where coldstorage is sufficiently performed for the cold storage material 50, thecold release time becomes larger as the bonding ratio X increases, as inthe graph of FIG. 19A.

Here, the time for solidifying all the cold storage material 50 isdefined as the cold storage time. In this case, when the bonding ratio Xbecomes larger as in FIG. 18B, the heat transmission path fortransmitting heat to the inside of the cold storage material 50 becomeslonger as in FIG. 18B, and thereby the heat exchange efficiency of theair-side fins 46 (46 a, 46 b) is decreased.

Therefore, as in the graph of FIG. 19B, when the bonding ratio X islarge, the cold storage time becomes pretty large. Furthermore, thetime, for which the cold storage can be performed, is a limited timehaving a relation with the driving time of a vehicle. Therefore, it isnecessary to effectively use the cold storage material 50 mounted in thevehicle, and to completely perform the cold storage of the cold storagematerial 50. In the graph of FIG. 19B, TL indicates the above-describedlimited time.

FIG. 19C is a graph showing the cold release time when the cold storageis performed in the limited time TL. As in the graph of FIG. 19C, thecold release time becomes maximum at the bonding ratio of about 50%. Asin the graphs of FIGS. 19A-19C, in order to effectively perform the coldstorage in the limited time and in order to secure the cold release timeby a small amount of the cold storage material 50, it is preferable toset the bonding ratio X at 50% or lower.

With respect to the outside surface (X+Y portion) of the cold storagecontainer 47, it is preferable to set the ratio X of the contact area tobe in a range of 20% to 50%, when the cold storage container 47 ispartially bonded to the outer surface of the refrigerant tube 45. Inthis case, it is possible to limit a decrease in the heat exchangeperformance of the cold-storage heat exchanger to be in a range equal tosmaller than 1%, while the ratio X of the contact area can be madesmall.

Furthermore, the contact ratio between the cold storage container 47 andthe refrigerant tube 45 is set so that a sufficient heat transmissionamount can be secured therebetween. Thus, it is possible to store thethermal amount in the cold storage material 50 in a limited time, andthe cold release can be performed for a sufficient long time by usingthe stored thermal quantity. Accordingly, when the vehicle engine isstopped at the red light of a traffic intersection, a supplementalair-conditioning effect for a vehicle compartment can be increased.

Fourth Embodiment

Next, a fourth embodiment of the disclosure will be described. In theabove-described embodiments, the plural protrusion portions 47 a 1 orthe plural recess portions 47 a 2 are formed in the cold storagecontainer 47, so as to have uneven shapes shown in any one of FIGS. 6,7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15 and 16. However, in the fourth embodiment, ribscomposed of plural protrusion portions 47 a 1 are formed into reverse-Vshapes (slanting shapes).

FIG. 20 shows the shape of ribs formed on the surface of the coldstorage container 47 according to the fourth embodiment of thedisclosure. The cold storage container 47 is assembled to a vehicle,such that the lower side of the cold storage container 47 in FIG. 20 ispositioned on the bottom side in the top-bottom direction of thevehicle. The plural protrusion portions 47 a 1 or the plural recessportions 47 a 2 are formed on the surface of the cold storage container47, respectively in a mountain shape having a top portion and twoslanting portions at two sides of the top portion, so that condensedwater flows downwardly from the top portion to be separated at the leftand right two sides of the top portion.

Because the protrusion portions 47 a 1 or the recess portions 47 a 2 areformed in slanting shapes, the condensed water generated on the surfaceof the cold storage container 47 can be separated into the left andright sides from the mountain-shaped top portion, and can be promptlydischarged outside along the slanting portions. Thus, it can prevent therefrigerant tube 45 and the cold storage container 47 from being brokendue to the volume expansion of the frozen condensed water, therebypreventing a freezing crack.

Thus, even when the condensed water remains on the surface of the coldstorage container 47 and is frozen thereon, the frozen ice can be easilyremoved, thereby preventing the freezing crack. Because condensed watercan flow along the slanting portions separated into the left and rightsides, the length of the slanting portions can be made shorter, therebyimproving the discharge performance of the condensed water.

Specifically, the protrusion portions 47 a 1 or the recess portions 47 a2 are formed on the surface of the cold storage container 47 such that aprotrusion height of the rib of the slanting shape is equal to or morethan 0.2 mm. Furthermore, a rib pitch, which is a clearance betweenadjacent protrusion portions 47 a 1 or a clearance between adjacentrecess portions 47 a 2, is set equal to or more than 3 mm. In addition,the plural ribs are overlapped by plural layers equal to or more thanthree, from the top direction of the cold storage container 47 towardthe bottom direction of the cold storage container 47.

When the air-conditioning of the vehicle compartment is performed byusing the cold-storage container 47, condensed water may stay in thecooling fin 46 within the cooling air passage 47 (see FIG. 17 or thelike), and in the cold-storage side air passage 461 a between therefrigerant tube 45 integrated with the cooling fin 46 and the coldstorage container 47. In this case, when the frost of the condensedwater is caused in a low load, the cold storage container 47 and therefrigerant tube 45 may be broken.

In the fourth embodiment, the ribs composed of the reverse V-shapedprotrusion portions 47 a 1 are arranged between the refrigerant tube 45and the cold storage container 47, so as to reduce the amount ofcondensed water staying in the space between the refrigerant tube 45 andthe cold storage container 47.

Thus, it can prevent condensed water on an upper side of the coldstorage container 47 from flowing into the reverse V-shaped rib on alower side of the cold storage container 47. As a result, the amount ofthe condensed water staying between the refrigerant tube 45 and the coldstorage container 47 can be reduced. Furthermore, even when the freezingof the condensed water is caused, it can remove the generated ice to anouter side (i.e., paper face-back direction of FIG. 17) from the spacebetween the refrigerant tube 45 and the cold storage container 47.

Fifth Embodiment

Next, a fifth embodiment of the disclosure will be described. FIG. 21shows the shape of ribs on the surface of the cold storage container 47according to the fifth embodiment of the disclosure. The cold storagecontainer 47 is assembled to a vehicle, such that the lower side of thecold storage container 47 in FIG. 21 is positioned on the bottom side inthe top-bottom direction of the vehicle. In the above-described fourthembodiment, the ribs are arranged substantially by the same pitch to beoverlapped from the top direction to the bottom direction of the coldstorage container 47. However, in the fifth embodiment, as shown in FIG.21, the ribs are arranged by different pitches to be overlapped from thetop direction to the bottom direction of the cold storage container 47.

Sixth Embodiment

Next, a sixth embodiment of the disclosure will be described. FIG. 22 isa side view showing a part of rib shapes formed on a surface of a coldstorage container 47 in an evaporator, according to a sixth embodimentof the disclosure. In the above-described fourth and fifth embodiments,the ribs are arranged to be overlapped from the top direction to thebottom direction of the cold storage container 47, such that the leftand right slanting shapes are continuously formed in each rib. However,in the sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 22, the ribs of the slantingshapes are arranged on the surface of the cold storage container 47 suchthat left and right slanting shapes are separated by a center groove ineach rib.

Seventh Embodiment

Next, a seventh embodiment of the disclosure will be described. FIG. 23is a side view showing a part of rib shapes on a surface of a coldstorage container 47 in an evaporator, according to a seventh embodimentof the disclosure. In the above-described sixth embodiment, the ribswith the left and right separated slanting shapes are arrangedsubstantially by the same pitch to be overlapped from the top directionto the bottom direction of the cold storage container 47. However, inthe seventh embodiment, as shown in FIG. 23, the ribs having the leftand right separated slanting shapes separated at its width center arearranged by different pitches to be overlapped from the top direction tothe bottom direction of the cold storage container 47.

In the above examples shown in FIGS. 20 to 23, the reverse V-shaped ribsor the slanting-shaped ribs are arranged on the surface of thecold-storage container 47 such that the plural protrusion portions 47 a1 or the plural recess portions 47 a 2 are overlapped in the top-bottomdirection of the cold-storage container 47. Furthermore, in the ribs,the left and right slanting portions, through which condensed waterflows from a mountain tip portion separately to the left and rightsides, are formed to extend to left and right two ends 47 t of the coldstorage container 47.

Accordingly, a large part of the generated condensed water is dischargedto outside from the two ends 47 t on the outside surface of the coldstorage container 47. Therefore, it is difficult for the condensed waterto be stored in a lower portion of the cold storage container 47,thereby preventing a freezing break in which the refrigerant tube 45 andthe cold storage container 47 are broken in the lower portion.

Furthermore, in the plural protrusion portions 47 a 1 or the pluralrecess portions 47 a 2, the left and right slanting portions, throughwhich condensed water flows from a mountain tip portion separately tothe left and right sides, are formed to extend to left and right twoends 47 t on the outside surface of the cold storage container 47. Inaddition, as shown in FIG. 20, the plural protrusion portions 47 a 1 orthe plural recess portions 47 a 2 are provided, such that a cross angleθ between a straight line and an extending line of the slanting portionsare set in a range of 30-60 degrees. Here, the straight line is aconnection line connecting a pair of the left and right two ends 47 t bythe shortest distance, as shown in FIG. 20. Thus, even when the vehicleis tilted on a slop, a draining performance of the condensed water canbe sufficiently obtained.

Furthermore, the protrusion portions 47 a 1 of the cold storagecontainer 47 and the refrigerant tube 45 are brazed to be in closelycontact, by an area equal to or larger than 80% with respect to theopposite surface between the plural protrusion portions 47 a 1 of thecold storage container 47 and the refrigerant tube 45. Thereby,condensed water can be certainly discharged to the outside of the coldstorage container 47 along the slanting portions of the protrusionportions 47 a 1.

Eighth Embodiment

Next, an eighth embodiment of the disclosure will be described. In theabove-described embodiments, the refrigerant passage portion of theevaporator 40 is configured by the headers 41, 42, 43, 44 and therefrigerant tubes 45 located between the headers 41, 42, 43, 44, asshown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The respective refrigerant tubes 45 are made to communicate withcorresponding headers 41, 42, 43, 44 at the ends of the refrigeranttubes 45. Moreover, each refrigerant tube 45 is a flat tube havingmulti-holes, which is formed by the extrusion process to have thereinplural refrigerant passages extending in the tube longitudinaldirection. The ribs on an uneven surface can be formed via the extrusionprocess by using a pressurization roller, similarly to the methoddescribed in JP 2004-3787A.

In the eighth embodiment, plural pairs of plates, each pair havingintegrated tank portion and refrigerant tube portion, are stacked in astacking direction, thereby forming a heat exchanger. A stack-type heatexchanger described in JP 2001-221535 can be used and incorporated byreference in the present embodiment.

The ribs with the uneven shape, composed of the protrusion portions 47 a1 and the recess portions 47 a 2, can be formed on a surface of acup-shaped tube (drawn-cup tube) formed by overlapping a pair of plates,by using a method described in JP 2004-3787A that is incorporated byreference in the present embodiment. The contents described in JP2004-3787A and JP 2001-221535A can be incorporated herein by reference,as the technical contents of the present specification.

FIG. 24 is a front view of an evaporator with a cold storage material inthe eighth embodiment formed, by the above-mentioned stacking plates.FIG. 25 is a left side view showing the evaporator with the cold storagematerial of FIG. 24. As shown in FIG. 24 and FIG. 25, the tank portionand refrigerant tube portion of the evaporator are formed integrally byoverlapping a pair of plates. Plural pairs of the overlapped plates arestacked, and the cold storage containers 47 are inserted partiallybetween the stacked parts. In FIGS. 24 and 25, uneven shapes on thesurface of the cold-storage container 47 or the refrigerant tube 45 arenot shown. Moreover, in FIG. 24 and FIG. 25, parts corresponding thoseof FIG. 2 are indicated by the same reference numbers.

FIGS. 26A and 26B are schematic sectional views by comparison, showingan evaporator in which a refrigerant tube is manufactured by a drawn-cuptube according to the eighth embodiment, and an evaporator in which arefrigerant tube is manufactured by extrusion. That is, a refrigeranttube 45 of the eighth embodiment shown in FIG. 26A is a drawn-cup tube.

In FIG. 26A, an air-side fin 46 is provided in a cooling air passage 460on the left side, a refrigerant tube 45 of a drawn-cup type havingtherein an inner fin 45 f is provided at one side of the air-side fin46, and a cold storage container 47 having an uneven surface is bondedto a surface of the refrigerant tube 45 opposite to the surface on theair side.

The air-side fin 46, the refrigerant tube 45 and the cold storagecontainer 47 are configured as one unit. For example, Plural units canbe overlapped to configure an evaporator. Another air-side fin 46 may bebonded to the right surface of the cold storage container 47 shown inFIG. 26A to form a unit. Alternatively, another refrigerant tube 45having therein an inner fin 45 f may be bonded to the right surface ofthe cold storage container 47 to form a unit.

The refrigerant tube 45 of FIG. 26B is formed by extrusion similarly tothe first embodiment. FIG. 26B is a modification of the firstembodiment. In FIG. 26B, an inner fin 47 f is not provided in the coldstorage container 47, which is different from the first embodiment shownin FIG. 4. In FIGS. 26A and 26B, the evaporator formed by using adrawn-cup method with laminated plates, is compared with the evaporatorformed by extrusion.

Ninth Embodiment

Next, a ninth embodiment of the disclosure will be described. FIGS. 27Aand 27B are schematic sectional views by comparison, showing anevaporator in which a refrigerant tube is manufactured by a drawn-cuptube, and an evaporator in which a refrigerant tube is manufactured byextrusion, according to the ninth embodiment; That is, a refrigeranttube 45 of the ninth embodiment shown in FIG. 27A is a drawn-cup tube.In FIG. 27A, an air-side fin 46 is provided in a cooling air passage 460on the left side, and a refrigerant tube 45 of a drawn-cup type havingtherein a refrigerant tube fin 45 f (inner fin) is provided at one sideof the air-side fin 46.

One surface of the refrigerant tube 45 is formed in uneven to haveprotrusion portions 45 a 1 as ribs, and recess portions 45 a 2. A flatcold storage container 47 without an uneven portion on the surface isbonded to a surface of the refrigerant tube 45 opposite to the surfaceof the air-side fin 46. Thus, a cold-storage side air passage 461 a isformed between the recess portions 45 a 2 of the refrigerant tube 45 andthe flat surface of the cold storage container 47.

The air-side fin 46, the refrigerant tube 45 and the cold storagecontainer 47 are configured as one unit. For example, Plural units canbe overlapped to configure an evaporator. Another air-side fin 46 may bebonded to the right surface of the cold storage container 47 shown inFIG. 27A to form a unit. Alternatively, another refrigerant tube 45having therein an inner fin 45 f may be bonded to the right surface ofthe cold storage container 47 to form a unit.

The refrigerant tube 45 of FIG. 27B is formed by extrusion similarly tothe first embodiment of FIG. 4. FIG. 27B is a modification of the firstembodiment. In FIG. 27B, the surface of the cold storage container 47 isformed to be flat without an uneven portion, the protrusion portions 45a 1 and the recess portions 45 a 2 are formed on the one surface of therefrigerant tube 45 to form ribs, and an inner fin 47 f is not providedin the cold storage container 47, which are different from theabove-described first embodiment. In FIGS. 27A and 27B, the evaporatorformed by using a drawn-cup method with laminated plates, is comparedwith the evaporator formed by extrusion.

Tenth Embodiment

Next, a tenth embodiment of the disclosure will be described. FIG. 28 isa schematic sectional view showing a part of an evaporator similar toFIG. 4 of the first embodiment, according to the tenth embodiment of thedisclosure. FIG. 29 is an enlarged schematic sectional view showing apart Z33 of FIG. 28;

FIG. 30 is an enlarged schematic sectional view showing a part Z34 ofFIG. 28; FIG. 31 is a graph showing a variation state of an evaporatortemperature in accordance with an interruption operation of a clutchconnected to a compressor according to the tenth embodiment. FIG. 32 isa side view showing reversed V-shaped ribs formed on a surface of a coldstorage container 47 of the evaporator of FIG. 28.

As shown in FIG. 28, the refrigerant tubes 45 are multi-hole tubes, eachof which has therein a plurality of refrigerant passages extending in atube longitudinal direction. Left and right refrigerant tubes 45 a and45 b (45) are arranged at two sides of a cold storage container 47having therein an inner fin 47 f, and two cooling air passages 460 forperforming heat exchange with air are provided respectively at left andright sides of the left and right refrigerant tubes 45 a and 45 b.

The refrigerant tube 45 and the cold storage container 47 contact atpositions, and are bonded at the contact positions by a brazing material33 r, as shown in FIG. 29. When a void 33 v exists in the brazingmaterial 33 v 1, the condensed water 33 v 1 may stay in the void 33 v ofthe brazing material 33 v 1.

In the cold-storage side air passage 461 a formed by the recess portions47 a 2 on the surface of the cold storage container 47 of FIG. 28, aspace 34 v is provided as shown in FIG. 30. When air to be conditionedis blown by a cooling fan (not shown), air flows in the space 34 v, andwater contained in air is condensed as a condensed water 34 v 1. In thiscase, the condensed water 34 v 1 easily stays in the space 34 v. Thespace 34 v is adapted as the cold-storage side air passage 461 a, whenthe cold storage material releases cold in the cold storage container47.

As shown in FIG. 31, the temperature of the evaporator (cold storageheat exchanger) changes to be repeated in accordance with interruptionof a clutch connected to the compressor 10 of FIG. 1, thereby repeatingfreezing and solution of condensed water as shown in FIG. 31. In orderto prevent a freezing break, a width W of a bonding flat portion of FIG.29 is set equal to or smaller than 0.8 mm.

Furthermore, the ribs formed by the protrusion portions 47 a 1 adjacentto the recess portions 47 a 2 are formed in reverse V-shape, as shown inFIG. 32 when being viewed from the arrow Z36 of FIG. 30. Therefore, thecondensed water 34 v 1, staying in the space 34 v of FIG. 30 formed bythe recess portion 47 a 2 on the surface of the cold storage container47, can be discharged outside of the cold storage container 47, as inarrows Y36 of FIG. 32.

The width dimension of the recess portion 47 a 2 between the protrusionportions 47 a 1 is set, such that condensed water can be drawn in thedirection shown by the arrow Y361 from bottom by using the clearancesbetween the protrusion portions 47 a 1. Thus, even when condensed waterbecomes ice, the ice can easily fall on the surface of the cold storagecontainer 47, and can be easily removed to the outside. Therefore, itcan prevent a stress for causing a freezing break from being generated.

In the cold storage heat exchanger in which the cold storage container47 is integrated with the cooling fins 46 a, 46 b of the cooling airpassage 460 for air-conditioning of the vehicle compartment, ifcondensed water stays in the cold-storage side air passage 461 a betweenthe refrigerant tube 45 and the cold storage container 47 so that afreezing (frost) of the condensed water is generated in a low load, thecold storage container 47 and the refrigerant tube 45 may be broken.According to the tenth embodiment, the reverse V-shaped ribs arearranged in the spaces between the refrigerant tube 45 and the coldstorage container 47 as shown in FIG. 32, so as to reduce an amount ofcondensed water staying in the spaces between the refrigerant tube 45and the cold storage container 47.

Thus, in the tenth embodiment, it can restrict condensed water on thecold storage container 47 from flowing, from an upper side rib to alower side rib on the surface of the cold storage container 47. As aresult, the amount of the condensed water staying between therefrigerant tube 45 and the cold storage container 47 can be reduced inthe cold storage heat exchanger. Furthermore, even when the freezing ofthe condensed water is caused, it can easily remove the generated ice toan outer side from the space between the refrigerant tube 45 and thecold storage container 47.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cold storage heat exchanger comprising: aplurality of refrigerant tubes having therein refrigerant passages, andarranged to provide a clearance therebetween; a cold storage containerthat is bonded to the refrigerant tube and defines therein a compartmentreceiving a cold storage material; and a cooling air passage in whichair flows to cool a space to be cooled in a cold storage time of thecold storage material and in a cold release time of the cold storagematerial, the cooling air passage being provided to contact a surface ofthe refrigerant tube on a side opposite to the cold storage containerbonded to the refrigerant tube, wherein an outer surface of the coldstorage container, onto which the refrigerant tube is bonded, isprovided with a plurality of protrusion portions or a plurality ofrecess portions.
 2. A cold storage heat exchanger comprising: aplurality of flat tubes having therein refrigerant passages, andarranged to provide a clearance therebetween; and a cold storagecontainer disposed in the clearance and bonded to at least one of theplurality of flat tubes, the cold storage container having therein acompartment receiving a cold storage material, wherein the cold storagecontainer has a plurality of protrusion portions protruding outward ofthe cold storage container and being in contact with a flat surface ofthe at least one flat tube, and each of the plurality of protrusionportions extends from an edge to another edge of the flat surface withcontinuously contacting the flat surface.